Also today, at its IFA press conference in Berlin, Sony introduced the two "lens-style" QX series cameras we have heard about before and which are said to bring new levels of fun and creativity to the mobile photography experience. The Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 and DSC-QX10 models utilize WiFi connectivity to instantly transform a connected smartphone into a versatile, powerful photographic tool, allowing it to shoot high-quality images and HD videos to rival a premium compact camera. It's an entirely new and different way for consumers to capture and share memories with friends and family. The new compact, ultra-portable cameras can be attached to a connected phone with a supplied mechanically adjustable adapter, or can be held separately in hand or even mounted to a tripod while still maintaining all functionality and connectivity with the smartphone.

German cable operator Kabel Deutschland has just issued a press release where it unveiled that the German TV audience is actively using the second screen while watching TV. According to a recent survey, 43 % of the audience is using smartphones, tablets or laptops. The German living room TV is still the fire place of the nation, but respondents supplement their viewing experience with smartphones, tablets and notebooks to get information from the Internet. Especially young people are looking for further information about the main characters of the current movie or exchange information while watching TV with friends on Social Networks. These are the results of a representative survey which was conducted by the market research company Ipsos.

Ever, since Twitter was release, sharing photos via the micro-blogging service was one of the most important and used features but it took Twitter a little bit longer to realize it by introducing its own photo and picture hosting which is now alive for roughly two years. And indeed, within my timeline this feature is heavily used but so far, you only knew that the tweet contained a photo by the respective URL, within the tweet (for instance pic.twitter.com/xyz) and only opening the tweet showed the respective picture; doesn't matter if on the web, Twitter's original Android, iOS or Windows Phone apps. However, yesterday evening my timeline on one of my Android devices showed me the picture preview straight within the timeline, without opening the respective tweet.

As Microsoft just announced, Chief Executive Officer and Microsoft co-founder Steve Ballmer has decided to retire as CEO within the next 12 months, upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. In the meantime, Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most. In the meantime the Microsoft Board of Directors has appointed a special committee to direct the process. This committee is chaired by John Thompson, the board's lead independent director, and includes Chairman of the Board Bill Gates, Chairman of the Audit Committee Chuck Noski and Chairman of the Compensation Committee Steve Luczo.

The MHL Consortium today announced the MHL 3.0 specification to address the latest consumer requirements for connecting a mobile device like smartphone or tablet to displays, marking major advancements in the areas of audio and video transmission over an MHL link. With double the bandwidth compared to the previous specification, MHL 3.0 delivers 4K (Ultra HD) resolution and a wider color gamut to create a more brilliant visual experience, solidifying MHL's growing presence in the living room. By using a bi-directional channel that's significantly faster than MHL 2, the new specification enables concurrent 4K video and high-speed peripheral support of mass storage and input devices such as a touch screen, keyboard and mouse.